When Kitsune Play Cupid
by Ookami Tsubasawa
Summary: Both were cold hearted and ruthless, yet felt an odd desire to be gentle with the fragile little hime, and also to protect her from the clumsy idiotic Naruto, who was trying his hand at playing cupid. SasuHinaGaa GaaHinaSasu SasuHina GaaHina Side NaruSaku
1. The Stupid Kitsune Cupid

**The Stupid Kitsune Cupid**

* * *

_Money or power will not bring you joy,_

_For only with true love comes true happiness._

* * *

"I thought after you'd become Kazekage you'd be a little more cheery" Naruto said, scratching his head as Gaara stared blankly ahead. "I mean look, you have _**all**_ this and you _still_ can't crack a smile" Naruto waved his arms trying to show as much of Suna as he could. Still, Gaara ignored him. As they passed, citizens avoided their eyes, scuttling past Gaara as quickly and quietly as they could. Yes they respected him, but they still feared him. Naruto sighed in defeat, coming to a stop. Gaara ignored him again and kept walking. Suddenly, it dawned on Naruto, and he sprinted back to the redhead's side. "**I GOT IT!!**" he cheered jumping in front of Gaara and pointing at him. "You need… _**A WIFE**_!!"

"A wife?" Gaara asked as though he was unaware of what such a thing could be.

"Yeah!" Naruto cried in delight.

"And what would this '_wife_' be?"

"Oh…"

* * *

"A wife is a girl that you're in love with?" Gaara said, sipping his green tea. Naruto nodded, his own tea untouched.

"Yeah, and you live with them, share everything with them, look after them, make love to them…" Naruto waved his hand as if to say 'etcetera, etcetera…' but of course, he couldn't remember the correct word. Idiot.

"Make love?"

"Geez… It's hard to explain. I mean me and Sakura-chan are getting married soon but we can't demonstrate nothing for you. You just need to find the right girl, someone who won't mind your inexperience and who'll be able to fit with your personality… or something like that" Naruto said resting his chin in his palms. "These people here don't seem the right type for you, _way_ too doom and gloom. But there might be someone in Konoha I could give you…" Naruto paused as Gaara stared at him with a rather bored look on his handsome face. "Well Sakura's mine, so you can't have her. Besides, I think she's a bit too feisty for you. Ino… it just wouldn't work, she's too obsessive and overbearing. TenTen… Lee would kill me. Err… who else is there, I'm missing someone…" Naruto screwed up his face in concentration, folding his arms stubbornly. "Ah! Hinata! But Hinata's… Wait! No she's perfect!" Naruto cried, clapping his hands together in delight.

"Hinata…?" Gaara repeated slowly.

"Yeah! You saw her at the Chuunin exams remember! Blue haired girl with white eyes, blushed a lot, quiet and freaky" Naruto described as Gaara looked slightly thoughtful.

"The one that fought the other Hyuuga and lost" Gaara said.

"Yeah that's her! I mean, you're both quiet and aren't sociable, and she's a really nice person so she'll be able to melt that icy heart of yours!" Naruto cried. He stood up suddenly. "I'll rush back to Konoha and arrange it with Hiashi! There's no way he'll turn it down! Of course I'll say it's just a trial and all, but this is gonna be great! Me and Sakura-chan will move down and help you out until you're settled and Obaachan will be sure to agree too!" Naruto cried excitedly.

"Hyuuga Hinata… Hmm…" Gaara said, a memory of the small shy girl coming to his mind as Naruto bounced around with glee. "I wonder…"

* * *

"Ha!" Hinata cried as she struck a tree with her palm. Her thick curtain of midnight blue hair swung over her shoulders as she moved, her bangs sticking to her forehead with sweat. She panted with exhaustion, her chest heaving as she went to strike the tree again.

A man watched from a tree a fair distance behind her. He brushed his dark bangs away from his eyes so he had a better view of her.

Uchiha Sasuke had returned to Konoha after a rather messy business of joining an S-class criminal and then killing his brother and trying to destroy his place of birth. He came back willingly, deciding to keep the title of the Uchiha being one of the greatest clans in Konoha and had intended to restore it to its former glory and beyond. Of course, instead of being welcomed back with open arms and treated like a king, he was scolded and put on probation, allowed on D-rank missions with his old team that constantly complained at what they had to do. _Joy._

But Uchiha Sasuke had found something interesting on these D-ranks. A certain girl he came across now and then; a blundering, blushing, clumsy girl with dark hair and pale eyes. He saw her at the hospital when he had to wash floors (ugh…) and again at a grocery store when he was sent to get an old woman's shopping (ugh…) and yet again at the Academy when he had to assist in the teaching of little kids (ughhh…).

She caught his interest, being rather odd and all, and he could vaguely recall her from his academy days as an extremely shy Hyuuga that had a crush on not _him_ (surprisingly) but _**Naruto **_(ughhh…).

He came across her training, and instead of training himself, he decided to watch her. He was surprised at how long she spent, hours upon hours, longer than most kunoichi normally would. It was dark by the time she would finish and he would sometimes fall asleep in his tree, only to be woken up by her before dawn the next morning when she would come back and train again.

But those were only on her few days off. She was a Chuunin and did C and sometimes B-rank missions. Other days she would do volunteer work at the hospital and other days he supposed she had clan matters to attend to.

With her Byakugan she always knew he was there, but never confronted or questioned him. He wondered why, but appreciated it, not wanting to have to explain himself. She would only speak to him when it started to get late and he fell asleep, waking him up so he wouldn't spend the night out in the cold.

She would move with grace, unlike Sakura who had was about as elegant as a charging bull, and looked surprisingly gentle in her movements (though she obviously wasn't) she was quiet and looked delicate, as though she needed protecting.

So why was Sasuke, prodigy, last remaining Uchiha, interested in mousy little Hyuuga Hinata?

Because she was different.

Because she stayed out of other peoples business so not to offend.

Because she was considerate and polite enough to wake him up so he wouldn't get ill in the cold.

Because she didn't throw herself at him, like a large majority of the female population did (he felt no pride at this, just utter disgust).

Because she was timid, yet worked so hard to prove herself.

Because underneath her modestly baggy clothes she was actually rather attractive.

And… to be honest he didn't really know.

As of late, he had found himself making small talk with her. He came down from his tree and meditated, but then would make conversation when it got too quiet. He wasn't much of a talker, and neither was she, speaking only when spoken to (and with a violent stutter in the beginning) but as she was starting to become more comfortable around him, she spoke more confidently, and he found it pleasant.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, as he jumped down and approached her from behind. She shut of her Byakugan and looked round at him.

Through their small talk, he had discovered that her Byakugan would cause migraines behind her eyes if she used it too long. She would also sometimes get dizzy spells and faint if she strained her eyes. She would openly tell him about her kekkei genkai, knowing he was interested, but he thought her a little naïve and too trusting. She would get hurt if she wasn't careful.

"Ohayo—" Sasuke began to reply, but an obnoxious shout interrupted him and caused him to groan and look away, his temper immediately becoming foul.

"_**HINATA-CHAAANNN!!**_" screeched the voice of his team-mate and Hinata's ex-crush Uzumaki Naruto. Surprisingly, after he started openly dating Sakura she congratulated them warmly and started dating Kiba, but was broken up by the constant strain her father put her under saying that she shouldn't be dating '_scum like that Inuzuka_' when she was '_the heiress to the most prestigious clan in Konoha_'.

"N-Naruto-kun, can I help you?" she asked as she blushed shyly.

"You're getting married!" Naruto cried in delight.

"I w-w-what?"

"She _**what?!**_" Sasuke shouted.

"To Gaara! You know! _Kazekage_ Gaara! Gaara from _Suna_! Gaara!" Naruto cried. Hinata flushed an alarming shade of tomato red, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and Sasuke rushed to catch her.

"Baka! What are you going on about?!" Sasuke hissed, holding a limp Hinata up.

"Lets bring her to Tsunade-baachan's office, so she can explain. Carry her will you teme? I had a _**long**_ journey." Naruto said airily, walking back toward the Hokage mansion. Grumbling Sasuke hoisted her up, her head lolling backwards as he tried to shift her into a more comfortable position. Giving up, he just set off after Naruto.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto I told you to **_wait_ **until she gets here and let **_me_ **break it to her!" Tsunade roared, slamming her hands on her desk and towering over the blond shinobi. "She needed to be told gently with reasoning! Not blurted out by a loud, obnoxious _**BAKA!!**_"

"But Hinata will agree anyway!" Naruto whined, holding his ears and cowering away from the frightening woman. Hinata stirred and tried to roll over (which she failed to do) and her eyes slowly fluttered open, to see Uchiha Sasuke's perfectly sculpted jaw.

"_**EEEK!**_" she cried, quickly wriggling out of his grasp and clutching the wall in terror.

"Hyuuga Hinata, you have a mission" Tsunade said, sitting down and switching to her authoritive voice. "You are to move to Suna for a period of up to a year and have a trial relationship with the Kazekage. Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura will be nearby and will assist you if a situation should arise. This is your first A-rank mission. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Why her?" Sasuke said, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he scowled darkly.

"Ohhh? Do you have a problem with it Mr. High-and-Mighty-and-_**Still-On-Probation**_-Uchiha?" Tsunade asked, a Cheshire cat smile spreading on her face as her eyes gleamed with a mischievous spark. "Then I think you should be Hinata-chan's bodyguard, with her night and day to protect her from the unpredictable Subaku no Gaara, agreed?"

"Uhmm?" Hinata squeaked.

"It's agreed then!" Tsunade said decidedly. "Uchiha! Celebrate, get drunk, you're off probation and have your first mission tomorrow!"

"Hn."

"Now that's sorted, you're dismissed, get out, especially—_**UZUMAKI DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT**_!" with a shriek, Tsunade hurled a pen at Naruto who had been reaching for a scroll hitting him squarely between the eyes. Naruto fell backwards, immediately knocked out.

Sakura apologised then grabbed hold of Naruto's ear and dragged him out the office, cursing under her breath. Sasuke glanced at Hinata who was fidgeting uncomfortably. She needn't worry, _he_ will protect her. He felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought that. Yes. _**He** would protect Hinata._


	2. Hyuuga Hinata

* * *

A/N: First off, Merry Christmas :D Thanks to everyone for the reviews. I have no idea who Hinata will end up with yet, I'll just have to see how it goes and whose more popular. Let me know your opinion in reviews! Thanks to for her kind review! Hinata's pretty miserable, but she'll cheer up soon, or her misery will be a little more humorous :)

**Disclaimer:** If you've read my other story Eien no Shasai, you'll know Im annoyed with Masashi Kishimoto for killing off all the good characters. Still, he deserves credit, and credit shall be given. I don't own Naruto unfortunately :(

* * *

**_Hyuuga Hinata_**

Hinata wasn't exactly what you'd call a _normal_ kunoichi. Instead of being obnoxious and speaking from the mind, she was quiet and soft spoken. She disliked hurting things, though would for her own or her comrades defence. She probably would have been better as a Medic-nin, but her father's scrutiny had pulled her away from the idea.

In short, Hinata didn't really have a place in the world. She was the ex-heiress, but a failure, a kunoichi, but timid, so what use was she?

She had managed to become a Chuunin, possibly her proudest achievement, yet always she had something missing.

Was it love? She had felt the twinges of a beginning of it while she watched Naruto or when she was with Kiba, yet never… Never felt _truly_ loved.

If her father loved her it was _very_ deep down and never rose to the surface. Hanabi, well they had a tolerance of each other and could go so far as being slight friends but with the pressure of the clan and its disgust towards Hinata, sisterly bonds never really had a chance to blossom. Neji had despised her until her first Chuunin exam, but seemed to find peace after that and treated her fairly kindly.

Now, everything had been torn with shreds of confusion. She was being shipped off to Suna to try and woo a bloodthirsty demon, that she had seen kill in the Chuunin exams and to be honest, was frightened of beyond belief.

And to top it off, she was going to have Uchiha Sasuke following her every move and sticking to her. In her younger years, back when she wasn't such a disgrace, she had guards with her at almost every moment and she hated it, so she certainly wasn't going to like it now.

With a sigh mixed of frustration and hopelessness, she pulled herself out of bed.

She saw no one about in the compound so set off for a walk, having packed a small bag the night before. She wandered around in a state of depression, looking down at a small pond to her side. She scrutinised her appearance, large, freaky white eye, sickly pale skin, thick black, blue tinted hair, and baggy clothes to hide her horrible figure.

Yes, Hinata was in a state of depression. Surprisingly, this brought out the more feminine side of her, which would mentally whine about her many imperfections. She turned away and kept walking.

"Oi Hinata." She spun around, her hair spinning round and landing neatly against her back.

"Uchiha-san?" she questioned, as he strolled towards her. He stopped a couple feet in front of her, and observed her. Her eyes were dull and she was paler than usual.

"Are you worried about Suna?" he asked, walking with her, but having to take slower strides so he didn't get ahead of her. She nodded meekly. "It's my mission to protect you, I won't let anything bad happen." He reassured.

"H-hai… Arigatou…" she replied quietly.

"You should go get your things, we're meant to be at the gate in half an hour."

"Mm…" she mumbled on autopilot, heaving back towards the Hyuuga compound for what could be the last time.

* * *

She was rather touched actually, to see her father, Hanabi and Neji waiting for her. A branch member handed her bag to her and bowed before walking off.

"Take care Oneechan." Hanabi said, with surprising compassion in her eyes. This meant more to Hinata than any words or gestures and she smiled and nodded.

"And you Hanabi" she replied softly, for once, no trace of a stutter. "Lead the clan to greatness."

"Hinata-sama" Neji said, his eyes caring and warm like Hanabi's. "I'll be coming to visit, I'll see if I can get transferred." As a Jonin, and a genius, Neji was constantly on missions and would rarely be able to see her. His words gave Hinata hope however, and she held them to her heart.

"Hinata. Don't disappoint me." Hiashi said, his harsh eyes staring down at his eldest daughter.

"I-I wont T-tou-san" she replied with a bow. Great, and she was doing so well without her stutter. Now tears are starting to form. No, she wouldn't cry, she would NOT cry!

"Ohayo!!" An orange bomb dropped down in front of Hinata. Naruto grinned in delight. "Hinataaa! Are you ready?" He asked wheeling around to look at her with a grin. "This goes down as an A-rank on my record and also says that I am good with clan and country affairs! Isn't that great?! Obaachan is sure to retire soon and then it's Hokage here I come!!" he said cheerfully, not noticing Hinata's increasing struggle against her teary eyes.

"Hai…" she croaked.

"Come on! Don't want to be late!" he cried, grasping her hand and dragging her along as Hinata lost her inner battle and let a stray tear run lose.

_Not even a proper goodbye._

* * *

"Sakura-chan I got her!!" Naruto cried, arriving at the Konoha gates. Sasuke looked up and Kakashi offered a wave.

"Hey. I'm going to be going too. Hokage-sama doesn't want Naruto to mess up and I'm going to be acting as a back up guard. She said I was getting old and a vacation would do me good." Kakashi explained, turning back to his book.

They head out without another word, Naruto's hyper excitement drowning out Hinata's misery. Naruto and Sakura walked up front with the blond boy carrying his and Sakura's bags. Sakura seemed to be in a bad mood and just scowled darkly as she walked. Sasuke walked next to Hinata, sensing her depression (though saying it was because he was guarding her) and Kakashi trailed behind, looking for enemies.

Oh why couldn't Kiba and Shino be here? Hinata thought miserably. Akamaru was like a large lion and she always felt so safe with the trio. Shino always had a calming aura and Kiba would cheerfully boast and brag that he was undefeatable and wouldn't let anything hurt her.

_I should be marrying Kiba-kun…_ Hinata thought, her eyes downcast. _We were so happy together. Tou-san, why did you hate him so? Why did you break us apart?_ She didn't even get to say goodbye to her team-mates. That thought let her mood hit rock bottom.

_I hate this…_

**

* * *

**


End file.
